2024 Lexus GX 550 vs Toyota Land Cruiser: Which One Should You Buy?
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 and Toyota Land Cruiser are now direct rivals, but in this recent test, only one reigns supreme.
Toyota has been on a bit of a roll over the past couple of years, launching a bevy of brand new products. It’s been a dizzying chain of events indeed, and now, fans of that particular brand – as well as its luxurious counterpart, Lexus – are faced with a lot of decisions when it comes time to plunk down their hard-earned money for a new vehicle. One of those choices pertains to the redesigned 2024 Lexus GX 550 and Toyota Land Cruiser, which are now direct rivals thanks to the fact that the latter SUV has been downsized and reinvented compared to the outgoing generation.
These massive changes – including the fact that the Lexus GX 550 is designed to be even more off-road capable than its predecessor – will certainly make for some interesting comparisons and debates, and that’s precisely the case with this recent head-to-head from Cars.com. Here, the site has secured a 2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+ and a Toyota Land Cruiser First Edition, both of which ride on the same platform and sport the same wheelbase dimensions, interestingly enough.
Those similarities go much further, however. Pricing for the two rugged SUVs is close in this case, with the Land Cruiser sporting a sticker price of $76,825 and the GX costing $80,915. Mechanically speaking, there is one big difference – while the Toyota utilizes a turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-four paired with an electric motor churning out 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque paired with an 8-speed transmission, the GX is currently only offered with a non-hybrid twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 that makes 349 horsepower and 479 lb-ft mated to a 10-speed gearbox.
In terms of suspension, the GX has Toyota’s fancy Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS), while the Land Cruiser gets by with a more basic setup, albeit with a disconnecting front stabilizer bar. However, the real proof here is in the pudding, and in that regard, Cars.com’s off-road testing of the two models revealed that the Land Cruiser’s superior approach angle results in easier low-speed off-road crawling, in spite of the GX’s one-inch of additional ground clearance.
Both of these SUVs have more than enough power to conquer any obstacle, and they deliver that power smoothly, and each has a crawl control system that worked flawlessly in this test. Each have excellent camera systems, to boot, but in high-speed testing, the GX shined thanks to its superior output. It was also much quicker to 60 – taking 6.7 seconds to hit that mark versus 8.3 for the Land Cruiser. That does come at a cost at the pump, however, as the GX offers 17 combined mpg, while the Land Cruiser nets 23. Ultimately, it wasn’t difficult for Cars.com to pick a winner here, however.
“We would totally pay the price premium to drive the Lexus home,” the site concluded. “It’s got an extra layer of refinement at every point, from how it drives on the street to its quiet and comfortable interior. That being said, there are things about the Toyota we prefer. Its climate control settings are easier to use and we prefer the Land Cruiser’s styling (though that’s obviously subjective). Plus, if your goal is to buy one of these as a sort of blank canvas, then the Land Cruiser provides a much better starting point. You can start with a Land Cruiser 1958 — which costs $57,345 — and still get most of the good off-road equipment and build it up from there. If you want to go off-road, you pretty much have to go with a Lexus GX Overtrail or Overtrail+, both of which are quite expensive. But for now, at least, the Lexus GX reigns supreme.”
Photos: Lexus
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